


The Breakfast Chronicles: Pancakes and Cuddles for Daddy

by gray_autumn_sky



Series: The Breakfast Chronicles [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-01-21
Packaged: 2018-09-19 01:28:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9411383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gray_autumn_sky/pseuds/gray_autumn_sky
Summary: Ellie (Peanut) is feeling particularly cuddly one more, and decides she wants to feed her daddy pancakes.





	

Regina stood at the counter, mixing the pancake batter and working out the lumps. She looked up as the back door opened, her smile broadening as Henry came inside. His backpack was slung over one arm and a textbook was tucked beneath the other, and he offered a dramatic sigh as he dropped everything down onto opposite end of the counter.

“Well, this is a nice surprise,” she says  as she dips a finger into the batter, laughing gently as Henry slumps into one of stools beside Roland and plucks a slice of strawberry from his brother’s pile. “I didn’t expect to see you until tomorrow night.”

“I have a chem test Monday morning, and the baby was crying and…” He sighs. “One always manages to set off the other and… Killian’s taken to singing to them.”

From the dining room, Robin laughs. “Singing, eh?”

“Catalina likes it…” Henry sighs. “But that combined with Aidan’s crying…”

“Well, what the two-year old likes, everyone must like,” Robin muses as he comes into the kitchen and pressing a kiss to Regina’s cheek.

“Emma must be going insane,” Regina murmurs as she looks to Robin and offers an empathetic little grin that’s meant for Emma and not for him as she recalls the days of broken up bits of sleep and endless noise, and the sweet solace that came when someone offered to babysit. “Maybe we should have Caty over to play with Ellie this afternoon?”

“It seems like a good day for it,” he agrees with a nod, “Considering our daughter is insisting on wearing her that pink and green tutu again.”

“Please, no,” Henry sighs. “I _really_ have to study for this test and Tiana’s sick, so I can’t study with her or even borrow her notes which are always more helpful than mine…”

“I have a science test tomorrow, too,” Roland announces, jumping into the conversation. “I have to label parts of a cell.” Robin and Regina both chuckle softly as Henry’s eyebrows arch and Roland’s eyes widen. “What? That’s _tough_. I have to spell mitochondria _correctly_!”

Before anyone can reply, Ellie comes bouncing down the stairs. Regina can’t help but laugh as flies through then kitchen in a blur a red curls and pink tulle. Robin lifts her up and tosses her into the air and she giggles as he cuddles her against his chest—and Regina can’t help but smile.

Lately, Ellie has been going through a particularly cuddly phase—and lately, Robin’s been the recipient of their daughter’s affection. She’s always been an affectionate child, but the majority of the time, when she had options to choose from, it was her mother who got her hugs and kisses and it was her mother that she always wanted to cuddle with. And while Regina loved the sweet moments with her daughter, she had to admit over the past couple of weeks, she loved watching Robin enjoying the unsolicited moments with Ellie.

“Okay,” she says, giving the batter one more stir. “Roland, how are those strawberries coming along?”

“Good!”

“Ready to mix in the sugar and starch?”

Roland nods as she slides a knife toward Henry and grins. “You can start on the apples.”

“But… I have to study.” Her eyebrow arches and she tosses him and apple—and with a long sigh, he reaches for a cutting board and starts to slice. “Fine… but I’m putting extra cinnamon on these.”

Regina rolls her eyes and turns to Robin and Ellie. She presses a quick kiss to the little girl’s cheek and rubs her nose with her own; then, reaches for a baking sheet.

“I wanna help!” Ellie declares, turning her head away from the crook of Robin’s neck to look back at her brothers with wide and curious eyes. “I can help.” Robin laughs as she starts to squirm. Tipping her forward and shaking his head as he untangles himself from her and set her on the counter. “Daddy, look! I’m helping,” she tells him as a proud smile stretched across her lips when Henry handed her a little jar of cinnamon and helps her sprinkle it over the apple slices.

Robin helps Roland spread the sugared and starched strawberries onto to half the tray as Henry and Ellie fill the other end with the cinnamon apples—and then, he slides it into the oven as Regina makes the pancakes and the boys grab stacks of plate and silverware to set the table. From the corner of her eye, she watches as Ellie reaches for him, hugging her arms around his neck and resting her head on his shoulder. Flipping a pancake onto a growing stack, Regina looks over her shoulder, watching as Robin sways back and forth with Ellie, his hand looking so large against her small back.

“Can you take these into the dining room?” Regina asks, nodding to the stack of pancakes. “I’ll get the fruit and… we can finally eat.” She grins as Robin turns himself and Ellie toward the stove, watching as the little girl nuzzles her cheek against his flannel shirt as tufts of pink and lime tulle bunch around his arm. Robin reaches for the plate and Ellie reaches for the top pancake, giggling as she lifts her head and tears off a piece, pressing it to Robin’s lips.

Grinning he takes a bite of the pancake piece, laughing as Ellie smushes the rest of the torn off piece into his mouth. He nibbles at her fingers and she giggles, ripping off another piece, this time feeding it to her father a little more gently. Swallowing the second bite, Robin presses a kiss to her cheek and chuckles softly as he makes his way into the dining to join the boys—and much to Ellie’s chagrin, share the pancakes.


End file.
